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( 04 一 NEW INTRODUCTIONS. )
Branches and leaves scratched at Clara as she sprinted through the trees. Considering Ruby's naturally small stature and the malnutrition she suffered from, you'd expect her to be quite easy to keep up with, but apparently not. Clara was heaving in air as she ran after the girl, still unsure as to why they were running at all.
Just when Clara thought it would never end she spotted an opening in the trees leading to a car park with a few run-down houses surrounding it. It was only ten that Clara realised Ruby had been chasing after someone as well. They look like a young kid and Clara realised they'd probably frightened the poor thing to death by sprinting after them. And because things in Clara's life seem to have a habit of going downhill, she heard Martin yelling after them. The sheer volume of his voice sure to have alerted Cate and the others of their little adventure.
Clara watched as the small child, who was surprisingly fast mind you, ran full speed towards the row of houses. At the last minute they made a sharp turn and jumped into what looked like a beat up black mini van. Ruby reached it before Clara did and began banging on the doors, begging for the child to let them both in.
Ruby looked to be in a frenzy of panic, her eyes wide with fear of what might happen if the others caught up with them. Just as Clara thought the agents would break out of the tree line the door of the van slides open. The two girls were given just enough time to jump in before it slammed shut again.
Looking at their saviour Clara realises they must only be around eight or nine, baggy boys clothes hanging off their frame, with big yellow gloves and a freshly shaved head. At first glance Clara assumed they were a boy, but looking closer she could see they were a girl, one with a very pretty face. She looked almost like a porcelain doll.
The girl climbed over one of the seats and grabbed them both by the collar of their shirts, dragging them over to sit in the crack between one of the seats. The girl grasped an old sheet, throwing it over them, covering them from view. It was dusty and Clara had to resist the urge to cough. She looked over at Ruby and saw that she looked like she was still panicking. So for the first time ever, Clara grips Ruby's hand and Ruby doesn't pull away. Now that she knows Clara is an Orange too, she knows she can't hurt her. So Clara can give her some comfort while revelling in the fact that she's finally holding the hand of her closest friend.
Both girls could hear footsteps approaching and held their breath in anticipation, praying it wasn't Cate, Rob and Dolly. If it was them, Ruby and Clara could distract them, hopefully giving the girl time to sprint away.
The passenger and driver's side doors opened, voices drifting inside. "⎼I swear to God it was her, Liam!" A voice yelled. Clara almost sighed in relief, they hadn't found them yet. "And look, I told you she'd beat us back. Suzume, did you run into trouble?" The voice was deep, but Clara could tell they weren't an adult.
They heard someone let out a relieved sigh. "Thank god," the voice said with a hint of a southern accent. They continued to bicker as everyone got situated to start the car.
"Ruby! Clarissa!"
Oh god. Cate.
Clara gripped Ruby's hand tighter. "What in the world?" one of the voices asked. Just as they finished their sentence a loud, sharp noise sounded around the clearing. Clara knew that sound. She knew it from the early years when the Oranges and Reds would try to escape from Thurmond. They were being shot at.
"LEE!"
"I know okay!"
The tires squealed against the asphalt before the car took off. "Seat Belts!" The southern voice called. The car was rocking them around so violently that at one point Clara and Ruby's heads connected.
The van was tearing down the street in an attempt to lose the gunmen. "Zu, did something happen back there?" The southern voice asked. It sounded as though he was trying to keep calm, probably so Zu doesn't freak out, Clara thought to herself. The other voice didn't seem to share that concern as he raged about how close it was and how they were shooting at us, with a gun. When he said that Clara heard Zu giggle softly. It sounded so angelic that Clara almost smiled, despite the chaos that was ensuing.
"It sounded like they were looking for someone," Liam said. "No, it sounded like they were shooting at us. That's what it sounded like," the other one nearly screamed. This was our fault, Clara thought.
Clara turned to Ruby, nodding in the direction of the door. They seemed to share the same thought. They couldn't let these people get hurt because of their poor decisions. Ruby pulled the sheet off the two of them and pulled Clara up to her feet alongside her.
The boy with the southern accent looked in the rearview mirror. "I can't see out the back window when you⎼⎼'' His words cut off as he did a double take. The van slammed to a stop as he pushed down on the break harshly. While everyone else was strapped into a seat, Ruby and Clara were sent sprawling to the floor.
The southern boy stared at them in shock, while the dark skinned boy glared at them so vehemently a weaker person would have melted on the spot. Luckily for Clara and Ruby, they had been getting those glares since childhood.
"Zu!" The southern boy cried, breaking the tense silence. She simply smiled a broad grin at him while batting her eyes innocently.
"We all agreed⎼⎼no strays" Clara let out a quiet scoff at that, "Well it's not like we're bloody rabid animals," she muttered. The southern boy seemed to have heard her though and turned to her with a sheepish smile.
"I'm Liam, this lovely little lady is Suzume and this is Chubs," he said while pointing everyone out. Zu waved enthusiastically as though they hadn't already met. Clara found it adorable.
"Who are you guys? Are you the ones those people were shouting about?" Chubs asked in an angry tone.
"Don't worry about us, we're leaving," Ruby replied. She yanked on the door handle but it had already been locked by Liam. "Unlock the door," She demanded.
Liam ignored her and stared at them with his mouth agape. Clara couldn't figure out why until he asked his next question. "Did you guys just come from a camp?" Liam asked, a look of horror etched on his face as he stared at their green uniforms. It didn't look like Ruby was going to respond so Clara did, nodding her head. "We're Greens, the Children's League broke us out."
"And you ran?" Liam asked delicately.
"Yeah," Clara responded without hesitation.
"Oh we are so screwed," Clara heard Chubs mutter.
"Please just let us go, we shouldn't have brought you into it, we're sorry. Please," Ruby begged.
"She's right, we shouldn't have involved you, just let us go and we'll be out of your hair," Clara told them.
"It's fine," Liam said, waving his hand dismissively. "We'll take you guys to the nearest bus station." That was more than Clara was anticipating. It wasn't necessary but it would definitely help. It wasn't a second later that a bullet smashed through the back window sending glass shards everywhere.
